Stuffed Buns with Chicken and Honey

I’ve always struggled with giving my dough enough time to rise, and now that I’ve nailed it, I feel so much better. My bread making skills are improving!

This also makes a nice afternoon of baking with a friend. 😊

Stuffed Buns With Chicken And Honey Recipe

This recipe is adapted from the "Meat-Filled Bun" recipe in the Goldilocks Bakebook. While you can make the dough by hand, I highly recommend using a stand mixer. Note: this recipe requires rising the dough 3 times!

Ingredients

Dough:

2 tsp instant yeast (one 8 g packet)
1-1/8 cups water
3-3/4 cups all-purpose flour (sifted)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs (separated)
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1/3 cup salted butter
2 tbsp sesame seeds (I like using a mix of black and white seeds)

Filling:

2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp garlic (minced (about two large cloves))
1/4 cup onions (chopped (about half a large onion))
500 g boneless skinless chicken thighs (cut into 1-inch cubes)
200 g sweet corn kernels (canned or frozen)
1/8 cup soy sauce
2 whole pieces star anise
1/4 honey
Salt and pepper
1 tbsp cornstarch

Instructions

Warm up 1/3 cup of the water in a microwave for 30 seconds, or until lukewarm to the touch. Add the instant yeast and stir to dissolve. Set aside.
If using a stand mixer, attach the dough hook.
In the stand mixer bowl, combine all-purpose flour, sugar and salt. Use a wire whisk to thoroughly incorporate the dry ingredients.
Add the remaining water, egg yolks (save the whites for later), evaporated milk, and pre-dissolved yeast to the bowl. Clamp the bowl to the stand mixer and mix at medium speed for approximately 4 minutes.
Add the butter and continue mixing at medium speed until the mixture becomes "doughy", approximately 5 minutes. This is when gluten starts to develop.
Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl and cover fully with plastic wrap.
Allow dough to rest for 30-45 minutes at room temperature, or until it rises to just under double its size.
While waiting for the dough, heat the vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat. Sauté garlic and onions for about 5 minutes, or until the onions have caramelized.
Add the chicken and continue cooking over medium heat until slightly browned, about 3 minutes.
Add corn kernels, soy sauce, star anise and honey to the pan. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and then simmer for 5 minutes.
Once the chicken is cooked through (to test, cut a piece in half and check that it’s no longer pink in the middle), strain the mixture into large bowl. Set the skillet aside. Transfer the chicken filling to a medium bowl. Remove 2/3 cup of the strained liquid from the large bowl and set aside.
Return the skillet to medium heat and add cornstarch. Slowly mix in the reserved 2/3 cup of liquid until the mixture thickens, about 3 minutes.
Add the reserved chicken filling and mix thoroughly. Continue cooking over medium heat until the sauce sticks to the chicken, another 3 minutes.
Discard the leftover liquid from the large bowl. Rinse this bowl, then fill 2/3 of it with cold tap water. Empty a whole tray of ice into this bowl.
Transfer the cooked chicken filling back into the medium bowl, then place this into the large bowl to cool. Set aside. This is the fastest way to chill the filling, so it’s ready by the time we’re ready to stuff the buns!
Now that the dough has rested, punch it down. Line two baking sheets with parchment.
Divide the dough into pieces weighing 60 grams each (roughly the size of a standard ice cream scoop). Roll each piece into a ball. You should have about 20 balls of dough.
Transfer the dough to the baking sheets and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Allow dough to rest for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
Time to take a break! Enjoy a glass of wine or a nice pint of beer for your work thus far.
Once the second rise is complete, dust your work surface with flour. With a rolling pin, flatten each ball of dough into a thick disc, about 4 inches in diameter (roughly the size of your palm). Transfer the discs back into the baking sheet as you go.
After the dough is rolled out, use an ice cream scoop to place the chicken filling into the middle of each disc (roughly 1/8 cup of filling per disc).
Here comes the tricky part: Use your fingertips to stretch out the edges of each disc, then fold the edges over each other to completely enclose the filling with dough. Make sure the edges are sealed.
Time for the final rise. Cover the stuffed buns again with plastic wrap and leave alone for 1 hour. 15 minutes before the hour ends, pre-heat your oven to 350 F.
Retrieve your reserved egg whites and beat with 1 tbsp of water. Brush the tops of each bun with the egg wash and then sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown in colour.

Equipment

2 baking sheets
Stand mixer with dough hook attachment
Wire whisk
Medium skillet
Large bowl
Medium bowl
Spatula
Rolling pin
Ice cream scoop

Enjoy!